To the Little Boy in Me: Learning with Dyslexia & ADHD is me looking back from adulthood to the little boy in me saying, «You're going to be ok. Dyslexia was not a curse. ADHD was not a curse.» I graduated from high school with honors. I didn't learn I was dyslexic until I was a junior in college. I was a pre-med major. who went on to graduate from college with a degree in psychology and a minor in biology. I innately taught myself how to learn and create my own strategies to cope with this disability. I didn't get diagnosed with ADHD until much later in life when I was thirty years old when I was writing my dyslexia book. In the process, I discovered the things that I got in trouble with as a kid are things I get paid for as an adult which is, my interaction with people, the way that I communicate, they way I use my dyslexia with my gifts and talents and how I remember things. All of the things I struggled with academically in school are things I get paid to share as a keynote speaker, as a life coach and as a presenter. I am now a sought after person because of the gifts that dyslexia and ADHD have given me. As a Dad, ADHD is great, when I'm working with my 3-year-old and 8-month-old daughters and I'm trying to be a parent. I realize I can't always focus because things are always moving in the stay-at-home Dad world.
The blessings of being dyslexic are real. Yes, the gifts are cool and amazing. But before reaching the goal, there is a lot of self-doubt, low self-esteem, frustration, and junk to sift through. A lot of reaching back and hugging the little boy in me and letting him know it’s okay. You are better because it happened the way it did. The qualities and character you have are results of what you’ve gone through. You are not weak. You have a testimony to share that can benefit someone else’s life.
